BUBONIC ASTARTES

The resilient Plague Marines often form the primary battleline of all Death Guard forces.

The Death Guard are one of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines. They worship and devote themselves exclusively to the Chaos God Nurgle and as a result of his mutational "gifts" they have become Plague Marines; Heretic Astartes who are eternally rotting away within their power armour and infected with every known form of disease and decay but who are immune to all pain or minor injury.

When the XIV^th Legion was first raised on Terra by the Emperor during the First Founding, its Astartes were known as the Dusk Raiders. After the XIV^th Legion was reunited with its Primarch Mortarion on the world of Barbarus, he renamed the Legion the Death Guard.

The Death Guard are a Traitor Legion entirely steeped in the power of Nurgle, the Chaos God of death, disease and despair, their very essence the epitome of all that vile Chaos God stands for. Their bodies are hives of filth and decay, their flesh eternally rotting away even as it is renewed by the ceaseless process of death and rebirth

DEATH GUARD SPECIAL RULES

NURGLE'S GIFT

Each Death Guard unit in your army receives the following abilities; DEATH TO THE FALSE EMPEROR, REMORSELESS, INEXORABLE ADVANCE, and DISGUSTINGLY RESILIENT.

DEATH TO THE FALSE EMPEROR

The hatred that the Traitor Legions bear for Mankind’s distant master is eternal. They despise those who serve him, and will redouble their efforts against such foes, their every vicious assault another blow struck in the Long War against the weakling Imperium.

Each time you roll a hit roll of 6+ for a model with this ability in the Fight phase, it can, if it was targeting an IMPERIUM unit, immediately make an extra attack against the same unit using the same weapon. These extra attacks cannot themselves generate any further attacks.

CHAMPION OF CHAOS

It is not unusual for the Chaos powers to bestow strange boom and mutations upon those who kill in their name. Not all of these boons are beneficial - the dark ones are as fickle as they are inscrutable, and even their most ardent followers are little more than pawns in a celestial game.

Whenever a character with the Champion of Chaos special rule kills an enemy character, you must immediately check to see if the Dark Gods reward him. To do this, roll a D66 on the Chaos Boon table below - by this we mean roll two D6, one after the other, counting the first dice as ‘tens’ and the second dice as ‘units’. Then refer to the table below to see what boon (if any) your champion has gained.

So, if you roll a 3 on the first dice and a 5 on the second, you would get a D66 roll of 35 - your champion would now benefit from the Mechanoid Chaos Boon. This boon lasts for the rest of the game; make a note of it on your army roster next to that character’s entry.

If a boon is rolled that tile character already has, the roll has no effect. If an enemy character dies as a result of multiple Wounds being allocated to it simultaneously, and one or more o f those Wounds were caused by the champion, that champion still rolls on the Chaos Boon table. Note that destroying models in a Sweeping Advance does not confer a roll on the Chaos Boon table.

Chaos Boon Table

D66 Chaos Boon 11-16 Unworthy Offering: No reward. 21-22 Spawnhood: Replace model with Chaos Spawn. 23 Warp Frenzy: +1 Attack. 24 Fragment of Immortality: Eternal Warrior. 25 Strength of the Berzerker: +1 Strength. 26 Arcane Occulum: +1 Ballistic Skill. 31 Cerebral Cogitator: +1 Initiative. 32 Bloated: Returned to full Wounds or, if unwounded, has +1 Wound. 33 Crystalline Body: +1 Toughness. 34 Shield of Force: Shrouded. 35 Mechanoid: Armour Save improves by 1. 36 Blade of Chaos: A Melee weapon now has Fleshbane. 41 Witch-Eater: Passing a Deny the Witch test makes the enemy Psyker take a S6 AP2 hit. 42 Cosmic Fate: Re-roll failed armour saves. 43 Venomous: Melee attacks are Poisoned (3+). 44 Unholy Crusader: Crusader. 45 Meteoric Charge: Hammer of Wrath. 46 Icy Aura: Enemy models in base contact at Initiative Step 1 take a S4 AP5 hit. 51 Mind of Metal: Adamantium Will. 52 Gun Morph: A ranged weapon has +1 Strength. 53 All-consuming Hatred: Hatred (Everything). 54 Warp Claws: Shred. 55 Lifetaker: Melee attacks have Instant Death. 56 Blademaster: +1 Weapon Skill. 61 Voice of Horus: Stubborn. 62 Temporal Distortion: Fleet. 63 Masochism: Feel No Pain. 64 Multiple Rewards: Roll another D3+1 times on this table; re-roll Spawnhood and Dark Apotheosis results. 65 Dark Apotheosis: Replace model with Daemon Prince.

PLAGUE WEAPON

Revolting toxins and infectious slime weeps from this weapon in a ceaseless stream. Even shallow cuts or glancing blows will leave the enemy’s flesh seething with incurable diseases.

Each time an attack is made with this weapon, re-roll a wound roll of 1.

REMORSELESS

The Death Guard are never perturbed, for there are few things more horrifying than they, and they know the Plague God smiles down upon them.

Each time a Morale, Leadership, or Fear test is taken for this unit, ignore any or all modifiers. When taking these tests, you can re-roll one or both of the dice results.

CONTAGIONS OF NURGLE

The Death Guard are carriers of countless infections and contagions, each a gift from Nurgle. Whenever they march to war, these diseases spread, contaminating all around, sapping the strength of its victims, draining them of energy, withering their muscles and overwhelming their immune system. Such is its malefic nature, they can even undo metallic bonds, alien psychic materials and all manner of other elements and components, rendering even armoured vehicles vulnerable.

If every unit from your army has the DEATH GUARD keyword (excluding UNALIGNED units), this unit gains the following ability:

Nurgle’s Gift (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit (see below), subtract 1 from the Toughness characteristic of models in that enemy unit.

DISGUSTINGLY RESILIENT

Those favoured by Nurgle are inured to pain, their rotting bodies shrugging off all but the most traumatic damage with ease.

A model with this ability receives the [FEEL NO PAIN] keyword.

Contagion Abilities

Contagion abilities affect enemy models or units within Contagion Range - this changes with the battle round number, increasing as the battle progresses, as shown in the table below. The effects of multiple, identically named Contagion abilities is not cumulative (i.e. if an enemy unit is within range of two models with the same Contagion ability, that Contagion ability only applies to the enemy unit once). Note, that while similar in many regards to Aura abilities, Contagion abilities are not affected by abilities that affect Aura abilities, and vice-versa.

BATTLE ROUND NUMBER CONTAGION RANGE 1 1" 2 3" 3 6" 4+ 9"

FOETID VIRION

Few lords of the Death Guard go to war without a council of advisors, expert plague spreaders and contagion brewers.

You can include up to three FOETID VIRION units in a DEATH GUARD Detachment while only taking up one Elites Battlefield Role slot. Each of these units must be from a different datasheet.

INEXORABLE ADVANCE

The Death Guard trudge towards the enemy at a relentless pace, guns hammering in a staccato roar.

• This unit counts as having Remained Stationary if it did not Fall Back or Advance in your previous Movement phase.
• If this unit has the INFANTRY keyword, it can ignore any or all modifiers to its Move characteristic, Advance rolls and charge rolls.

DEADLY PATHOGENS

If your army is Battle-forged and includes any DEATH GUARD Detachments, then when you are mustering your army, you can upgrade any of the following models in your army by giving them a Deadly Pathogen:

• DEATH GUARD CHARACTER models
• BUBONIC ASTARTES models that have the word ‘Champion’ in their profile

Each time you give a model a Deadly Pathogen, select one plague weapon that model is equipped with to upgrade (this cannot be a Grenade weapon or a Relic). In addition to the effects listed for that Deadly Pathogen (see below), add 1 to the Strength characteristic of that weapon. The points value of that model’s unit is also increased by the amount shown on the table below. Make a note on your army roster each time you give a model a Deadly Pathogen, as well as which of that model’s equipped weapons has been upgraded with it.

Named characters cannot be given Deadly Pathogens. Each model can only have one Deadly Pathogen. An army cannot include the same Deadly Pathogen more than once. Deadly Pathogens are not considered to be Relics for any rules purposes - this means a CHARACTER model can be equipped with both a Relic and a Deadly Pathogen.

DEADLY PATHOGENS PATHOGEN POINTS Acidic Malady +15 Explosive Outbreak +15 Virulent Fever +15 Befouling Runoff +5 Unstable Sickness +10 Corrosive Filth +15 Viscous Death +5

ACIDIC MALADY

The acids that coat this weapon eat through armour with terrifying ease.

Improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of this weapon by 1.

EXPLOSIVE OUTBREAK

This pathogen attacks its victim with incredible speed.

This weapon gains the [Sustained Hits 1] keyword.

VIRULENT FEVER

When this pathogen finds a victim - either being or machine - it rapidly replicates, causing horrific damage before burning out.

Each time an attack is made with this weapon, an unmodified wound roll of 6 inflicts an additional wound on the target in addition to any normal damage.

BEFOULING RUNOFF

The pathogen manifests itself as a viscous liquid with a stench so foul it can make lungs bleed. When it seeps into cover or terrain, the landscape is rendered utterly useless to enemy troops.

This weapon gains the [IGNORES COVER] keyword.

UNSTABLE SICKNESS

Those affected by this pathogen explode in a shower of deeply infected gore.

Each time an attack is made with this weapon, if any enemy models are destroyed by that attack, roll one D6: on a 3+, that model’s unit suffers an additional S5 AP4 hit. If any models are killed by this ability, this ability repeats.

CORROSIVE FILTH

No armoured fighting vehicle is durable enough to withstand the corrosive power of this specially formulated pathogen.

Each time an attack is made with this weapon against a VEHICLE unit, re-roll all failed penetrating hits.

VISCOUS DEATH

Filthy slime fills the rounds of this weapon and coats them. When fired, the explosive splashes spread the pathogen in all directions.

Each time you roll to scatter this weapon, you can re-roll the result.

PLAGUE COMPANIES

The Plague Companies, scions of the 14th Primarch's disgusting wrath.

PLAGUE COMPANIES

If your army is Battle-forged, <PLAGUE COMPANY> units in DEATH GUARD Detachments gain access to the following Plague Company rules, provided every model in that Detachment that is drawn from a plague company is drawn from the same plague company. Such a Detachment is referred to as a Plague Company Detachment.

TRAITS

Each Plague Company has an associated Plague Company Trait. If a DEATH GUARD <PLAGUE COMPANY> CHARACTER models gains a Warlord Trait, they immediately gain access to the relevant Plague Company Trait in addition to their normal Warlord Trait. All of these are Contagion abilities.

RELICS OF DECAY

Each Plague Company has an associated Plague Company Relic of Decay. If your army is led by MORTARION or a DEATH GUARD <PLAGUE COMPANY> WARLORD, you can give the relevant Plague Company Relic of Decay to a DEATH GUARD <PLAGUE COMPANY> CHARACTER model or a squad leader from your army instead of giving them a Relic of Decay. Named characters (such as Typhus) cannot be given a Relic of Decay. Unlike Relics of Decay, you do not need to pay points for the associated Relic for a Plague Company Trait.

HARBINGERS TRAIT: SHAMBLEROT The strains of the zombie virus carried by the Harbingers slowly but surely break mortals around it. It saps at their strength and their dexterity, rendering them useless before the virus consumes them. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Shamblerot (Contagion): While an enemy unit (excluding VEHICLE units) is within Contagion Range of this unit, at the start of your opponent’s Movement phase, roll one D6, subtracting 1 if that enemy unit has the CHARACTER keyword: on a 4+, that enemy unit suffers a S4 AP5 hit; on a 6, that enemy unit suffers D6 S5 AP4 hits instead.’ RELIC: INFECTED REMAINS Contaminated corpses and body parts can be used to despoil sacred sites in the name of Nurgle. HARBINGERS model only. Once per battle, at the end of your Movement phase, you can select one objective marker within 3" of the bearer. While the bearer is on the battlefield, that objective marker has the Contagions of Nurgle ability and is considered to have all the same Contagion abilities that the bearer has.

THE INEXORABLE TRAIT: FERRIC BLIGHT The spreading rust of the Ferric Blight, spawned in the immaterium, can reduce armour of all kinds to nothing. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Ferric Blight (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, each time an attack is made by a friendly INEXORABLE model against that enemy unit, improve the Armour Penetration characteristic of that attack by 1.’ RELIC: LEECHSPORE CASKET This armoured, rune-inscribed chest is borne to battle aboard the war engines of the Inexorable. Through unclean sorcery it is bound to the soul of a mighty plague champion; as that warrior reaps a tally amongst the foe, so the casket creaks open and spews fecund spores that use the enemy’s parasitised life force to heal the vehicle’s hurts with putrid mutant flesh. INEXORABLE model only. Each time an enemy model is destroyed as a result of a melee attack made by the bearer, select one friendly INEXORABLE VEHICLE model within 18" of the bearer. That model regains 1 lost Hull Point. No more than 3 HPs can be regained per turn due to this Relic.

MORTARION’S ANVIL TRAIT: GLOAMING BLOAT The spores of the Gloaming Bloat find their way into all kinds of crannies and crevices, rendering all kinds of weapons ineffective. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Gloaming Bloat (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit: That enemy unit cannot fire Overwatch or Set to Defend. Each time a model in that enemy unit makes an attack, the hit roll and the wound roll cannot be re-rolled.’ RELIC: WARP INSECT HIVE As a part of their hellish defensive systems, warriors of Mortarion’s Anvil deploy hives of foul warp insects. MORTARION’S ANVIL model only. Each time the bearer makes a melee attack, you can re-roll the hit roll and you can re-roll the wound roll or armor penetration roll.

THE WRETCHED TRAIT: EATER PLAGUE The Eater Plague gnaws and bites at enemy armour, burrowing into weak points and making rents and gaps. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Eater Plague (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, each time an attack is made by a friendly WRETCHED model against that enemy non-Vehicle unit, an unmodified hit roll of 6 automatically wounds the target.’ RELIC: THE DAEMON’S FAVOUR This vile, crater-pocked poppet-doll is scrimshawed from diseased bone. It teems with the malevolent essence of the Eater of Lives himself, his power billowing forth in gnawing clouds. WRETCHED MALIGNANT PLAGUECASTER model only. The bearers Pestilential Fallout ability is replaced with the following ability: ‘Torrent of Putrefaction: Each time this model successfully manifests a psychic power, the closest enemy unit within 12" suffers D3 S4 AP5 hits.

THE POXMONGERS TRAIT: SANGUOUS FLUX Bleeding sores erupt all over enemies afflicted by the Sanguous Flux, the wounds never clotting or healing. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Sanguous Flux (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit: Subtract 2 from the Leadership characteristic of models in that enemy unit. RELIC: IRONCLOT FURNACE Comprising an ever-burning alchemical engine lodged within the bearer’s armour and an array of rune-carved, coiling tubes and exhausts that spill from it, this foul artefact churns out warp-charged pollutants that coat nearby Daemon Engines. POXMONGERS model only. The bearer has the following ability: ‘Ironclot Furnace: In your Command phase, you can select one friendly POXMONGERS DAEMON ENGINE unit within 6" of the bearer. Until the start of your next Command phase, models in that unit have a 4+ invulnerable save.’

THE FERRYMEN TRAIT: THE DRONING The Warlord is surrounded by a cloud of fat plague flies, who harass the Death Guards enemies and eat away at round casings, coolant vats and fuel containment canisters. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘The Droning (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, at the start of your opponent’s Movement phase, halve that enemy unit’s Move characteristic until the end of the phase.’ RELIC: FERRYMAN’S SCYTHE This grotesquely oversized weapon lops great chunks of armour and flesh from its victims, each lumpen gobbet taken as payment for ferrying the victims soul through the veil and into Nurgle’s malignant garden for all eternity. FERRYMEN model equipped with a manreaper only. This Relic replaces a manreaper and has the following profile: Range S AP Type Ferryman’s Scythe - +3 2 Melee, Two-Handed

MORTARION’S CHOSEN SONS TRAIT: NURGLE’S FRUIT The strange lumps that form on victims of Nurgle’s fruit, also known as the boilblight, lumpen splatter or Crawling Pustulence, are easy to spot at distance for the Death Guard. This WARLORD has the following ability: ‘Nurgle’s Fruit (Contagion): While an enemy unit is within Contagion Range of this unit, each time an attack is made by a friendly MORTARION’S CHOSEN SONS model against that unit, the target does not receive the benefits of cover against that attack.’ RELIC: VOMITRYX This gruesome weapon contains a microscopic warp portal that leads directly into the festering guts of the Great Unclean One Ku'Gath. When its nozzle is opened it spews ferocious gouts of the Daemons highly corrosive bile. MORTARION’S CHOSEN SONS model equipped with a plague sprayer only. This Relic replaces a plaguespewer or a twin plague spewer and has the following profile: Range S AP Keywords Vomitryx Template 6 4 [Assault 2], [Poisoned 4+], [Plague]

RELICS OF DECAY

Nurgle’s putrescent blessing hangs heavy in the air about the Death Guard’s most sacred relics, and proximity alone is often enough to infect those who breathe deep of their noxious foulness. Only one of each of the following items may be chosen per army, and only one may be chosen per model.

Units in a Death Guard Detachment or Formation can choose to take items from the Chaos Artefacts of the Death Guard below. Named characters and vehicles cannot take any Relics of Decay.

Billowing Censor

From this censer flows thick clouds of particularly virulent poisons. The reaction these have with the plagues cultivated within many Death Guard is highly explosive..

While the bearer is deployed on the tabletop, each Death Guard vehicle that is reduced to 0 Hull Points explodes. Center the Large Blast marker over the vehicle. Any units under the blast marker’s position suffer a number of Strength 6 AP- hits equal to the number of models that unit has under the marker.

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Dolorous Knell

The clangour of this giant bell is painful to the ear, almost intrusive as its foul sounds push their sickening notes into the minds of those nearby. Each toll registers as a dull clank on the data-harvest of recording devices such as vid-thief skulls, but to hear it in person is quite another matter. Bravery is undone and certainty ebbed away as the shambling horde of the Death Guard closes in, rendered as looming behemoths by the peals of the deathly knell.

All friendly Death Guard units within 14" of the bearer at the start of the Fight phase have the Fear special rule for the duration of the phase. In addition, enemy units taking a Fear test against an affected unit must do so on 3D6 instead of 2D6.

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Plague Skull of Glothila

This oversized death’s head was once the skull of the Chaos Lord Glothila, whose dying wish was to become a weapon of purest evil.

Once per game, instead of firing his weapon, the bearer of the Plague Skull of Glothila can choose to make a shooting attack that uses the profile below:

Range	S	AP	Type
8"	1	-	Assault 1, Large Blast, One use only, Poisoned (2+) Plague

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Plaguebringer

The hooked blade Plaguebringer once bore the souls of a trio of Beasts of Nurgle. Once the sword sprayed the virulent, infected spittle of these overexcitable Daemons with every swing. However, those entities were trapped so long in the rusted artefact’s confines that their lethally potent enthusiasm has drained away, replaced with something even worse. After a long period of sulking, the blade’s inhabitants became something else entirely; it now contains the malignant souls of three Rot Flies that take every chance to inflict a terrible wasting disease on those around them.

Replaces one of the bearer’s Melee weapons.

Range	S	AP	Type
-	+3	3	Melee, Daemon Weapon, Poisoned (4+) Plague

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Poxwalker Hive

Daemon insects spill from the tubular, chimney-like structures of the Poxwalker Hive. The incessant droning chatter of these tiny creatures acts as an infection in its own right, and those who willingly listen to it are at grave risk of contracting the poxwalker’s curse. Should they succumb, they will devolve into shambling, mutant monstrosities, murmuring and babbling in the same flyblown tongue as the hive itself.

At the start of each of your turns, pick a friendly unit of Chaos Cultists or Poxwalkers within 7" to infect with the poxwalker virus. For the rest of the game, that unit of Chaos Cultists or Poxwalkers cannot advance, but they gain the Fearless and Feel No Pain special rules, or if they already had Disgustingly Resilient, the Feel No Pain is upgraded to a 4+. In addition, at the start of each of your following turns, return D3 slain models to every friendly unit of infected Chaos Cultists or Poxwalkers that are within 7" of the bearer. Any models returned in this manner that cannot be placed within unit coherency are lost.

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Puscleaver

Appearing as a particularly large plague knife, more like a machete than the traditional side weapon of the Death Guard Legion, the Puscleaver bears the infamous Gurgling Doom contagion. One struck by the blade has not only to contend with part of their anatomy being hacked away, for its edge remains punishingly sharp, but also a wound so infected it balloons into a swollen mess in seconds. The afflicted individual keels over a moment later, gurgling phlegm as he finally realises the glory of Nurgle’s generosity.

Replaces one of the bearer’s Melee weapons.

Range	S	AP	Type
-	+1	4	Melee, Poisoned (2+) Plague

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Putrid Periapt

Plucked from the gut of one of Horticulous Slimux’s own Beasts of Nurgle, this amulet reacts to witchery by releasing clouds of warpspores that seed the flesh of Nurgle’s faithful with fecund vitality..

The bearer of the Putrid Periapt knows one additional power from any discipline it has access to. In addition, anytime they manifest a psychic power successfully, they recover d3 wounds.

Suppurating Plate

This bloated power armour is riddled with pipes full of corrosive pus. Whenever an enemy’s weapon so much as nicks its surface, foul fluids jet out that eat away at metal and flesh alike..

The bearer’s Sv characteristic becomes 2+. Each time an enemy fights the bearer, for each unsaved wound on the bearer, that enemy unit suffers a S4 AP5 hit.

The Pandemic Staff

This rune-engraved artefact is long and pitted, mouldering with a visible miasma of plague and entropy. Every one of its odd dents and holes harbours a deadly strain of contagion, one of Nurgle’s old favourites, tried and proven. Collectively, the grotesque diseases that riddle the Pandemic Staff have seen trillions of lives ebb away to nothing, reduced to little more than fodder for the Grandfather’s Garden. When waved expansively, the staff can conjure forth a tide of hypertoxic fluids that could bring low even a rampaging pestigor.

Replaces one of the bearer’s Melee weapons. The bearer can also use the Pandemic Staff in the Shooting phase instead of firing another weapon.

Range	S	AP	Type
-	+2	4	Melee, Concussive, Poisoned (2+) Plague
Template	1	5	Assault 1, Poisoned (2+) Plague